Inside the Soul Stone
by Supergeek1810
Summary: This is (or will be) a series of one shots set after Infinity war focusing on the heroes we lost to Thanos’ finger snap. If I haven’t said so already, SPOILERS FOR IW! Rated T for language in later chapters
1. Wanda Maximoff

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or anything related to marvel or the mcu. I just have a lot of feelings.**

 **A/N: this is one of my many many takes of what happened to everyone who got wiped out at the end of infinity war. This will probably be a series of people in this situation each with their own story. Enjoy!**

She didn't know what had happened. It just did. One minute she was lying by his side, mourning the loss of the Android and the next she opened her eyes in this weird orange place.

Looking around, she realised she was alone. Completely and utterly alone. She hadn't been alone since- Well, she didn't really want to think about that... she always tries not to after all. She decided to try and have a look around to see if she could see anything.

Walking for hours and hours on end was tiring but still, she couldn't see anything but orange, orange and oh, more orange. She just sat down and cried silently to herself. 'Pull yourself together Wanda!' She thought 'Crying won't get you anywhere.' Although it looked like there's nowhere to really get around here. Suddenly, there was a flash of blue light. It was gone as quickly as it had appeared, she began to doubt whether she had really seen anything at all, or whether it was her mind playing tricks on her. That blue light was familiar, too familiar to ignore. She scolded herself for being so stupid, it couldn't be him. Wishing for him was allowing herself to fall into a childish hope.

Once again, something happened that made her confused and scared. Her mind connected with something- no someone. The connection was strong and once again familiar, just as last time she could only seem to land on one explanation. But that would mean she was losing her mind; there's no way it could be, no. She continued to sit on the floor, knees to her chest and trying to keep calm. She sensed a figure behind her, but she didn't turn around.

"Wanda?" A voice asked, she recognised his accent instantly but she refused to turn around; it was just the stone playing tricks on her, right?

"Wanda?" The voice repeated; more force this time, yet still gentle. Just as she'd always remembered. Still, she didn't turn.

"Pietro?" She asked uncertainly, her American accent drained away with a familiar Sokovian one. Just like his.

"What? You didn't see that coming?" He asked smugly. Practically feeling him smirking behind her, she gave into temptation and turned around as she stood up.

Standing there, in front of her, was a man she hadn't seen for 3 years. A man who she didn't think she'd see again. The man who held her as a child, whilst still being a child himself. There he was, finally. The one person who never let her down. Her best friend, her brother, her Pietro. All thoughts in her head were lost as she ran over to her twin brother and hugged him as hard as she could. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, he made her feel safe, just like when they were children. Just then she slapped him hard across the face.

"Ow." He mumbled "what did I do this time?"

"What gives you the right to die on me?" She asked him, not suppressing her beaming smile.

"Well, I am 12 minutes older than you." He said with a smirk. "I've missed you sister."

"I've missed you too brother."

And for the first time in three years, Wanda felt whole. She was finally content, she could finally be with her brother, once more.

 **A/N: hope you enjoyed this story and thanks for sticking with it until the end. Comment who you think I should do next and I'll try and write it up! Thank you**

 **~Supergeek1810**


	2. Peter Quill

**A/N: I feel like this will probably be the longest chapter in the series since I feel so much for this character. It was very difficult to write and I actually spent 2 days trying to write it so I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **I would like to shoutout 3 people for helping me with this chapter:**

 **Bambiexox for giving me the character in the reviews, I hope you enjoy it!**

 **And my two great friends:**

 **marvelgeek14 for proof reading this and supporting me on the development of the chapter because he knows how difficult fanfiction writing is, check out his stories too!**

 **And Basicbitch14 for proof reading it, supporting me through it and giving me some awesome ideas. She really helped me through when I thought I couldn't write it.**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

Peter Quill

He woke up in a place he'd never seen, which was a foreign feeling to him, as he had travelled to far quadrants of the Galaxy. He also didn't know what had just happened, he felt it was like a blink and you'll miss it sensation that in the blink of an eye he was transported to this place, this strange, lonely place. His thoughts dragged him back to his time on Titan, Drax and Mantis turned to ash right before his eyes. It was unreal. Where were they now? Did he disappear too? Were they here with him? But he looked around, still alone. Alone, he hated being alone, hated the word 'alone' it just seemed so... desperate.

He looked around for a little while. 'Nothing here' he thought miserably, and so he just sat down where he was, unwilling to continue on his pointless mission to attempt to find anything else. Anything other than orange. The colour was driving him mad. And now he wasn't continuing, he couldn't hide anymore. The distraction he'd set for himself by walking continuously in one direction had made him feel like he was losing his sanity. So, now he was here, the grief he'd so desperately tried to seek refuge from, was threatening to defeat him. Gamora. She was gone. The woman he loved. That was something he never wanted to face and yet here he was, in the exact nightmare that had haunted his mind since he met her. His most terrifying nightmare, his worst fear, was coming true. And it wasn't even the thought of his grief, or of her untimely death. No. The thing that haunted his mind the most was that she died alone. As alone as he was now; he wasn't there, he couldn't save her. He didn't even get the chance to hold her and tell her he loved her one last time before her monster of a father murdered her. Before the light and life he so much admired disappeared from her beautiful eyes. He would've done anything to make sure she was safe, he would've lived a lifetime of loneliness in this desolate, plain world he was forced to endure if she could've just survived.

Anyone who knew Peter Quill knew that he was never one to cry, not openly anyway. But here, that unspeakable word 'alone' had at least one silver lining. No one would be here to see him break down. And that's exactly what he did. His heart was broken in two and one of those pieces belonged to Gamora, his Gamora. What monster would take such a soul willingly, openly and in the right state of mind? That monster was after power, and power only. He didn't care about anyone else. He didn't care about her. Quill had come close to rock bottom a few times, but this was it. He didn't have many weaknesses at all, but when one (or many, in this situation) were exploited in such a way, he was sent to the lowest part of his mind. His emotions ran wild and all he could think of to tame this demon was the sweet release of death. 'At least I'd be able to see Gamora again.' He thought. He didn't believe it fair that she was the one to die, in his mind, he always made sure that if one of them were to go, it would be him. Now his plans were wrecked, he could only wait for death to take him, just as it had taken the love of his life.

He was so upset that he didn't notice someone walking up behind him.

She hated seeing him like this, they had been pulled apart by that monster named Thanos. Something she swore she would never let happen to her family. To Peter. On some level, she blamed herself for this awful situation in which they were trapped because, if she hadn't have joined the guardians and stayed with them, she wouldn't have brought her past (including the likes of her adoptive father) along with her. She wanted nothing more than to grab his attention, he was only there after all. But, in the back of her mind, she feared that may hurt him more. However, her desire to give into temptation won her mental battle against herself and she spoke his name.

"Peter." He had heard suddenly. Was the stone playing tricks on him? Was his mind finally caving in on him? Was he at long last, after a while in this place, losing his mind? He struggled with the decision of whether to turn around and see if anything was there. He did.

For a moment, he felt his heart stop. Was that even possible here? That question was suddenly pushed out of his mind as he continued to gape at the woman before him. His throat felt dry and about ready to close up and he couldn't speak. It felt like an eternity of just looking into each other's eyes before he managed to utter one name. Her name.

"G-Gamora?" He asked, she nodded and when he stood up, he walked over to her as quickly as his legs would take him. As they stood just feet apart from each other, Peter decided to ask the question that he wasn't very sure he wanted to know the answer to "is it really you?"

She simply nodded and in a second he took her in his arms and kissed her like it was the first time, or the last. Neither of them dared look away from each other's eyes, as if they were frightened that the other was just a fantasy of their imagination. Quill felt the tears well up in his eyes as he gathered the courage to speak to her.

"I... I thought I lost you." He said through tears.

"Oh Peter," She replied "you did."

He wasn't sure what to make of what she had said.

"I died Peter, I did. He killed me." She said.

"At least we're here now, together." He replied hope in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry..." Gamora uttered suddenly, looking away from his eyes. Quill was confused.

"What in the galaxy do you have to be sorry for?" He asked, he then realised the answer, although she hadn't admitted it. His face turned serious as he attempted to comfort her.

"Don't you ever think that." He said gently but forcefully. "Hey, look at me." She reluctantly met his eyes "none of this is your fault, ok? None of it."

She so desperately wanted to believe his words but that constant voice at the back of her mind told her otherwise, and although Peter's words were stronger and meant more to her than anything, that voice in her head was too hard to hide from.

Then, the worst thing that either of them could have thought of was happening. Gamora felt herself slipping away from him and suddenly dropped out of their loving embrace as her legs buckled beneath her.

"Gamora! Are you ok? What's wrong?" He started to panic.

"I have to go Peter." She said simply.

"No." He replied firmly "No you can't go."

She looked at him with desperate eyes, she didn't want to leave him again but she was going and it looked like she didn't have a choice. The couples time together cut short. He held her in his arms as she struggled against the darkness to stay with him.

"Please Gamora. I lost you once, I can't lose you again." He said, voice breaking more with every word. "I can't lose you. I love you so much."

Feeling this was it for her, she said one last thing "I love you too, more than anything." Before fading away into the infinite word inside the soul stone.

He had lost her. Again. He felt another bad breakdown on the horizon and didn't know what to do anymore. It's not like he could take his own life in here, he didn't think it would work because of the fact that they were under control of the infinity stones. He couldn't continue anymore. So, he just sat down and waited for the sweet release of death to take him. Take him back to his mother. Take him back to Yondu. Take him back to the love of his life. But little did he know that death would be a long time coming.

And so, that's how Peter Quill ended up right back where he started. In the vast and empty plains of the soul stone, completely and utterly alone.

 **A/N: thanks for reading this. I think out of everything I've written this is the one I'm most proud of. Quill is so difficult to write when he's upset because we're so used to seeing him so happy and vibrant. Once again, comment who you'd like me to write next. I hope you all enjoyed and don't forget to leave a review, it really helps with my writing.**


	3. Peter Parker

**A/N: hello and welcome to a new chapter! I've seen this request pop up a few times and I've tried to put it into words. I hope I've done the character and his story justice. Enjoy!**

He felt it coming, his spider senses slowed his death down dramatically and he couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Everyone else's deaths seemed so quick, so painless. On some level, he envied them, but on another, he was glad he got to say his apologies to Mr Stark. Mr Stark! He was still on the planet! Peter stood up to help before realising he couldn't. Because how can you help someone if you have no idea how to get to them? How could Peter help if he had no idea where he actually was? He took in his surroundings, no one was there.

He started worrying about his family, his friends, his life back in New York. He wondered who else got wiped out in the snap. Aunt May? MJ? Ned? Were they alive, or were they here? But there was no one else here. His brain couldn't make sense of anything, shouldn't the guardians of the galaxy be here? They went before him. And Doctor Strange too? They should all be here. But where?

'May must be so worried.' He thought, after all she didn't know he'd gotten off the bus. She didn't know he went on that ship, she didn't know what had happened to him. He thought of all the missed calls and voice messages he must have from May and everyone else. No one, besides Mr Stark, knew he was here, and even Stark didn't know where he'd gone, just that he went. Peter had never before thought he would be in a situation like this, but there's a first time for everything.

He sensed someone coming behind him and as soon as he payed eyes on the figure, he felt his legs buckle beneath him and he dropped to the ground in disbelief. It took him a few moments to compose himself but he remained where he was, catching his breath and forcing himself to once again look at the figure in front of him. A smug smile crept upon the figures lips, one that Peter recognised immediately. He couldn't believe his eyes, he really couldn't. He felt as if he couldn't speak, couldn't move, couldn't do anything, not even look away. Because he feared looking away would make the person disappear, and he couldn't let that happen, not again.

"W-what? H-how? I don't understand!" He spluttered, the figure just laughed slightly.

"You okay now kid?" The guy asked

"U-uncle Ben? Is it really you?" Peter asked uncertainly.

"You bet Pete." Replied Ben, suddenly, the teenager ran at his uncle and hugged him tight, releasing what felt like years worth of pain in the tears he shed. His uncle hugged him back, feeling happy to be with his nephew again, but unbearable remorse knowing he'd have to leave him all over again. The man held the teenager while he cried, and it reminded Peter of his uncles comfort when he was a child.

Peter has missed his Uncle Ben so much since they lost him, so to have him right here in front of him was so weird. It was a dream come true but oh how strange it felt to have him back after years of wishing, hoping and praying for this exact moment to come around and now it was finally here he was happy, although something didn't feel right. Did Ben know something he didn't?

"I've missed you so much." Said Peter, hating the way he sounded like such a child.

"I've missed you too Pete, and your aunt May." The man told him "I've seen what you've been doing, kid. All this with the Spider-Man and I have to say, I'm so proud of you Peter Parker! You've saved so many people, you should be proud of yourself!"

"But it wasn't enough, was it? I couldn't save the universe, that's the point. That's why I'm here!" Replied Peter sadly. He wanted to be proud of himself, and hearing Ben say that he was proud of him just made Peter so happy. But he couldn't bring it in himself to be proud of all the good things he has done, everything he achieved. Not when the world, no the universe ended up the way it was. Could he be proud of himself? Knowing every day that he was here that he was one of the people who had failed to stop Thanos.

Failed to save the universe. Because that's what they did, they failed, and now half of all living beings all over the universe were gone, just like him. Just like they never existed in the first place.

Peter didn't know how Ben had gotten to the Soul world but it was so nice having him back that he wasn't about to complain and ruin it.

"I'm so sorry Peter." Said Ben suddenly.

"Why?" Asked Peter nervously.

"I'm not even supposed to be here Peter, I need to leave soon." Replied Ben

"What? Why?" Asked Peter again.

"I don't know. I don't want to leave you again kid, I never wanted to in the first place. Hey, this is life. But do me a favour please?" Peter nodded eagerly.

"Anything!" He shouted

Tell May I love her and remember, you're a strong kid, hold your own and be the hero you were born to be. Go be Spider-Man and do it for as long as you can. Now, get back out there and kick some serious purple ass!"

And that's when Ben started walking away, off into the distance, slowly fading until nothing remained. Peter's brief encounter with his dead uncle remained forever lodged in his mind. He was confused, frightened and alone; how could he help the fight? How could he stop Thanos? He couldn't even get out of the place he was in now. How would anyone expect him to do something?

'Think Peter think.' He thought over and over agin. 'Think.'

 **A/N: well that's the end of that. Once again thank you so much for reading and request who you would like to see me write about next! Thank you!**


	4. Drax The Destroyer

**A/N: welcome to another chapter! Sorry for the delay but it took me a while to get the right story. This was a bit difficult to write but not nearly as much as one of my earlier chapters. I hope I've done this character justice as he was a really interesting character to write. Enjoy!**

The new situation confused him. This new place was unknown to him and he didn't like it much. The last thing he remembered was Mantis disappearing into thin air. He thought maybe he had too. But there was no one else here. No one at all. That should be impossible, but apparently not.

The only thing around here was orange; orange floors, orange walls. Everything was orange. He wondered about the rest of the team, about their lives and the possibility that they could be wandering around here just like he is now. Drax was a very peaceful person, despite his exterior personality and was very worried for the welfare of his team, his friends. No, his family.

One of the things he remembered from the outside world was the realisation that Gamora was dead. As soon as that dawned on him, he knew that the team would be different. Too different for his liking. Groot would be more distant than his usual teenage self. Mantis wouldn't be able to keep her emotions in, meaning she would hide away from the others. Rocket would pretend everything was fine with him when he really wasn't fooling anyone and probably drinking more than he should. Drax himself would once again have to deal with loss and he would spend a lot of time contemplating on the situation they were in or if he could've done anything, because as much as he thought he wouldn't, he respects the green skinned assassin and cares about her wellbeing. However, the person Drax feared would change the most, was their leader. Peter Quill. Peter would probably be all of the above and more and probably 10 times worse than anyone else bar Groot because he's just a kid and grew up with her being there. But Peter would probably take on the drinking like Rocket, hiding away in his room like Mantis, keeping distance from the team like Groot and contemplating the whole thing multiple times like himself. But Drax knew that peter would likely end up making himself ill by stressing over what they could've done and blaming himself for everything, especially her death.

Yeah, Drax knew his teammates.

"Father?" Asked a sweet, light voice behind him with a smile he could not mistake. Two forms formed and walked over to where he was. A woman, walking hand in hand with a young girl. Their smiles took Drax's mind off of his current situation and he stood to take in the faces he never thought he'd see again.

"Hovat, Kamaria!" He said happily, as his wife and daughter met him in the soul stone and Kamaria hugged her father for what was definitely the hundredth time in her short life. She was just how he remembered her, sweet and innocent. His wife Hovat was no exception, she had not changed in the slightest either; still as beautiful as ever.

"It has been too long." Said Hovat to her husband.

"Yes it has." Replied Drax "I hope I have made you both proud since we have been separated." Kamaria nodded eagerly.

"Father, you have saved the universe on more than one occasion! Of course we are proud!" She said happily, this made Drax smile again. Oh, how he'd missed his daughter and her innocent persona.

"I swore to you both I would avenge your deaths and I failed that promise." Drax admitted reluctantly. "Although I think my teammate 'read my mind' and got there before me." Using air quoted around the phrase 'read my mind' to show that it was not many literally.

"Oh Drax, the fight is not over yet. You may have lost the battle, but there is still chance for you and your friends to win the war. This is merely the beginning of a much larger chapter in your lives and you need to keep on living it." Explained Hovat, she was the voice of reason in his mind that kept him going through every mission he and the team had. "Now unfortunately, we must depart. Don't look so sad, this is not the last goodbye. We will see you again."

"You have the power to help the universe, father. Use it to your advantage. You and your friends and some new people can help everyone back on Terra. Just because you're in here doesn't mean you can't get out, or at least try to. Vengeance matters little in a fight against a mad Titan such as Thanos. I hope you remember that. Just continue along the same path. You'll find what you're looking for. And once you find it, you'll know you have. This will not be our final goodbye father, I assure you. Now, go save the universe." Explained Kamaria. Drax looked at his daughter in awe at her amazing amount of wisdom. He knew he would have to remember things she had said to properly continue on his journey. A journey he actually had. As Hovat and Kamaria walked away, they began to fade until Drax was once again alone in the world.

' _Not for long_ ' he thought to himself, and he began to walk.

 _Just continue along the same path. You'll find what you're looking for. And once you find it, you'll know you have._

 **A/N: thanks for reading and for sticking with me this far. I'm working on future chapters as well as another story at the moment but I will try to update as soon as I can. Once again let me know who you would like to see next and I'll try my best to see it through.**


	5. Groot

**A/N: this is the fifth chapter of the story. I have planned an ending but I don't know how many more characters I'm going to do. This is a character chapter and it has been requested so I hope you enjoy!**

Waking up, he wondered why he suddenly wasn't in Wakanda anymore. Instead, he just saw orange. An orange world. It was really freaky, he tried to remember what had happened. All around him people faded away and then... nothing. He remembered sitting on the ground and Rocket was there, he remembered feeling a bit strange and then suddenly he woke up here. Thanos has won, that's why everyone went silent. As soon as he came to that realisation, he remembered what that meant. Half of the universe had been wiped out, that's why people turned to ash and faded away. He gasped in shock, he was dead!

But no, he couldn't be dead. He was too young to die, his family had always told him that. Peter said he would take him to get his own Walkman and weaponry, Gamora said she would train him when he got older, Drax didn't say much but he always told him they would go see the graves of his wife Hovat and his daughter Kamaria. Groot knew he would've liked them. Mantis said she would help him understand people and their emotions better and Rocket said he would teach him mechanics and how to shoot properly. But apparently, all of that was a lost dream, all the plans he had made were pointless because he was never going to do them. All his hopes and dreams for his future were never going to be fulfilled. He was dead. Dead. And he wasn't going back.

Suddenly, something appeared behind him. It was like a portal, but he couldn't go through it. So, he guessed it was more like a window to another plain. The window showed him somewhere familiar, it was where he had came here from! It was showing him Wakanda! He could see everyone: Thor, that Steve Rogers guy, the dude with the metal arm, the guy in the robot costume, loads of others he didn't really recognise and over in the corner of the room, was Rocket. Groot saw his expression and realised he was somewhere between misery and rage. He wasn't really used to seeing Rocket upset and he didn't like it at all. It was strange.

In the distance, the people in Wakanda saw a ship in the distance. It was the Milano! Groot saw Rocket's face light up if only for a second before explaining to the Terran group the ship belonged to them. Groot couldn't hear anything they were saying but he could tell what was happening. Two people stepped out of the ship, the first one out was a man in a suit of iron that Groot had never seen before. He wondered why he was on the ship, but it looked like the Terran's knew him, so he guessed that it was ok. Then the other person came out of the ship and it was... Nebula? Groot hasn't seen her for ages and suddenly there she was walking out of their ship. Rocket was confused, he could tell. But he was confused too! Where was the rest of the team? Rocket looked past Nebula a few times seeing that no one was coming. He began asking Nebula where the his friends were but she didn't reply, which made Rocket mad and made him start shouting at her to tell him what in _hell_ had happened to his team, his _family_. She shook her head at him, saying something Groot couldn't comprehend but whatever it was, it really must've hurt Rocket. He ran in the ship before coming back out a few minutes later looking defeated. Groot then realised what must've happened. The team was dead. All of them, dead. Him, Quill, Gamora, Mantis, Drax, everyone. All gone. The look on Rocket's face said it all, the horror and grief stricken look in his eyes before he ran away from everyone, not listening to the Terran's and Thor shouting out for him to come back. And just as easily as it had opened, the portal closed. And Groot was left there.

But then he realised something else. He was dead. _Dead_. If they were dead too then he could find them in here! So, then and there, he made himself a deal. He had literally all the time in the world to find them now, he wouldn't give up until he found them, he wouldn't stop until he could see them again. Did he think it would work? Hell no. But he was a Guardian of the Galaxy, and they never gave up.

 **A/N: hope you all enjoyed that chapter. I am setting to work on the ending but would still like to know how many more characters you would like me to write up in this situation. I am definitely going to do one more character but if you want more than one then please leave it in the reviews. Thank you!**


	6. Mantis

**A/N: hi and welcome to another chapter of my story. I know it's been a while since my last update so I'm sorry for the delay but I've been writing two at once at the moment. I have decided where I'm going to take this story in future chapters but I'll save that till the end. For now, enjoy the chapter!**

When she opened her eyes, she expected to find Peter and Drax asking her if she was ok. She must've fainted, that was the only explanation. But when she opened her eyes, she saw the complete opposite. Her emotions were clouding her mind as she felt the presence of millions of people surrounding her. But she couldn't see anyone. Couldn't make contact with anyone. Peter and Drax were here, but at the same time, they weren't. That must mean that something has happened to them all! She began to get worried about everything. Her friends- no her family, herself, the future. Was she ever going to get out of here? Would she ever see the others again? She had a feeling she would but she was scared in case the outcome was the opposite of what she wanted.

She loved being a part of a dysfunctional team like the guardians. It gave her a sense of meaning, the best one she's ever had before. Living on Ego's planet meant she was there for a purpose. But now she was with them, her purpose in life was a whole lot more fun and fulfilling than it ever was before. She had watched Groot grow up from a baby to a teen, she had helped save the universe from an immortal celestial god, she had made friendships that would last a lifetime even long after the guardians would disband in the future. She just didn't think it should end up like this, in fact, she knew that it would never end up like this. It couldn't.

She felt for other people she knew and was horrified to discover that Groot was in this god awful place too! Sweet Groot had been taken too! This place, this whole damn thing was just awful. All around her, she felt people reuniting with their loved ones who had deceased. Unfortunately, she knew that would not happen for her, since she didn't know of anyone that would come to pay her a visit. All around her, peoples feelings changed from sad, depressed, confused and scared, to joyful and incredibly excited. She simply smiled to herself at all of these reunions of lost love and lost life.

People from all planets in all of the galaxies were ecstatic to see their lost loved ones after so long, or not that long at all. She could feel feelings of people she recognised, her teammates were here too, all except for Rocket. She wondered if he was ok, who he was with, if he was actually alone. She hoped not. All his life, Rocket had been alone. Until he met Groot and then they met the guardians; he hadn't been alone for a long time and now that he was again, Mantis knew it would be extremely hard for him to cope.

All of a sudden, everything changed. She felt all of the emotions from the hundreds of millions of people around her change dramatically. They were once at peace. Excited and exceptional happy to see the people dear to them who had been cruelly ripped away but now it was like something was different, something has changed. Heartache was projecting all around the orange world and Mantis was very confused. Until she started to notice something, the deceased people she had once felt present weren't there anymore. They were gone again. Mantis was curious as to who or what had visited her friends on the team; she was saddened at the knowledge that no one would come for her in the loneliness of this place but she was happy nonetheless for everyone else who had.

She knew somewhere in her head, although she didn't know how she knew, that this wasn't the end. This wasn't their fate. They would find each other and the half of the universe that was left standing would fix this. She was sure of it. Because it couldn't end like this. It just couldn't.

 **A/N: and so ends another chapter. Due to recent thought, I have decided that this is _NOT _the last character chapter and there will be one more that I will release next that leads on to the next part. I am currently writing the next character chapter and hope I do it as well as I hope I will. Thank you so much for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	7. Bucky Barnes

**A/N: this is the last character chapter that I'm doing for you guys but don't worry! This is NOT the end of the story! I repeat NOT the end of the story, there is still more to come and there's the start of the new chapters at the end of this one. I have to admit, I'm hopeless when it comes to these characters in this story but I tried my best.**

 **Enjoy!**

Waking up there was like waking up from the cryo again. It was all bright and new just like last time, he was confused as hell just like last time. But this time around, there was some big differences. There were no people, no surroundings, no chamber. No nothing. Just one colour, all around. He wasn't outside, but he wasn't inside either and that was confusing. Last time, he was confused by a lot of things; there was new technology, new styles, new people since the last time he'd opened his eyes this way. Steve was there, he'd been gone for 70 years but he was there. Now, they were both there. But that was cruelly ripped away from him and replaced by a harsh reality.

This time around was different. There was no one there except him, no Steve this time. At least before, he could tell what planet he was on. But he couldn't say the same this time, there'd been that many run-ins with alien army's and vengeful gods on earth so in his mind, he thought he could be anywhere in the universe. And that bothered him. A lot.

As much as he walked, nothing changed. It was still the same surroundings, the same lonely silence. He questioned if he'd even moved at all, since everything is the same here. Wherever here is.

"Barnes?" A sudden voice behind him asked, the voice was easily recognisable. He'd only ever heard that voice come from one person.

"Well if it isn't Peggy Carter." He said incredulously, unable to believe his ears that Steve's best girl was there, behind him. He turned around and there she was, she looked just like she did back in the 40's. Steve missed her so much, and Bucky knew it. Then, it dawned on him. Bucky knew that Peggy was dead, and he knew because Steve had told him. If Peggy was dead, does that mean he was too?

"Yes Barnes it's me. Now, are you going to tell me why I'm here or not?" She asked in her distinct British accent.

"Me? Tell you? I don't know where I am! So how the hell am I supposed to know why you're here to?" Replied Bucky

"I'm obviously here for a reason Barnes, everyone's getting visits from people who care about each other." Said Peggy

Bucky thought about her words carefully. He and Peggy were never really that close and they only really had any connection because of the army and Steve. That gave him an idea. Steve. They didn't really care for each other that much, but they both shared one very similar interest. That interest was of course, Steve Rogers. Maybe that was the reason that she was here right now. Maybe, they both just cared about a man who couldn't stop himself from getting into fights with men much larger and stronger than himself. He guessed that, after the loss of both Agent Carter and now himself, Steve was alone. No one was there to watch over him, so maybe that was the reason why fate had brought the two of them together. Steve needed someone to keep him out of trouble and they both knew that, and he knew that was what worried him the most.

"So, I see you mulling it over. Any ideas?" Asked Peggy, she never took anything from anyone.

"I'm guessing because of Steve." He replied. Bucky saw something in her eye then, a look of pure raw emotion, even if only for a second. There was everything; remorse, sadness, loneliness. Bucky hadn't mentioned Steve yet, had he? She must miss him so much. Bucky could tell how hard he fell for her, and he had to admit his jealousy about that.

"He's alone now, isn't he?" Asked Peggy, making gestures between the two of them but Bucky felt like he had to try and put her mind at ease.

"Not completely." Said Bucky "He's got the others back on earth. The Avengers are his team. He'll be fine."

"He has you too, Barnes." She replied, Bucky was confused. What good could he possibly be to Steve dead?

"He has us both. In spirit." He said, trying to make sense of her words. Peggy shook her head.

"No, that's not what I mean," She said, firmly "because you are going to get out of here and find him. You are going to get back to him. I'm dead, so I have to stay here."

"But... aren't I dead to?" Asked Bucky "I mean, I was in the battle and then I wake up here and see someone who I know for a fact is dead. And this obviously isn't the word, realm, dimension or whatever that I just came from and to be honest, I'm confused as hell."

"Oh Barnes, you're so melodramatic." She laughed, half-heartedly "you're not dead, you're just here. That guy back on earth sent you all here."

"All? As in, more than one? Who else is here? What happened to us? How are we not dead?" Asked Bucky.

"That big purple bastard wiped out half of the universe, so that means a lot of people are gone." She replied. "Now, go win this fight and get back to Steve. That's an order Sergeant Barnes."

"Of course Agent Carter." He replied

Just like that, she walked away. Fading quickly out of sight, Bucky found himself alone in the world for the second time here and he hated it. But on the horizon, there was a figure heading toward him. Soon, they would start arriving. Soon, there would be figures coming from all directions. But for now, he was only focused on the one right in front of him.

"Sam?" He asked.

 **A/N: as you can probably tell, I've never watched the first two Captain America movies... don't judge! I'm still catching up on a bunch of them, I've put myself into the marvel movie fandom a few years late so I have a lot of catching up to do and I have to wait for the movies to come on the tv because we can't afford to keep buying them. I hope I didn't do too bad on this as I really love Bucky and wanted to do him justice! Please comment/review because I think I did really bad on this. Sorry!**


	8. Coming Together

**A/N: I am so sorry for the recent delays on my updating chapters for this story. I am attempting to write multiple stories at once, which I can say is a very bad idea. I am currently working on a few Starmora fics so if you're interested let me know and I'll try and group my thoughts. This particular chapter got me very confused and it took a while to figure out what I was going to do, I actually have about 3 more different versions of this chapter but I decided on this as being the best one by far, so, I hope you like it. Enjoy!**

"Sam?" Bucky asked in a low tone, he couldn't believe it, he wasn't the only one here! As Sam got closer, he started to speed up just so he didn't lose sight of another being.

"Barnes?" He asked, relieved but still confused.

"Sam?" Bucky repeated "What's going on? How? Why are you here?"

"I have no clue." Replied the Falcon.

Suddenly, over Bucky's metal shoulder, he saw more people coming over. People were actually coming over to them, real people! This was at the same time believe and completely unbelievable.

"Oh my god." Said Bucky as he turned around and saw them.

They both recognised about 3 of the figures from the battle in Wakanda. There was that tree kid, Groot as Bucky remembered, Wanda and King T'Challa coming in from the one side. They reached them and were all extremely confused at what had happened.

"Barnes? Wilson?" Asked T'Challa, they both nodded. The group sat down; Groot looked nervous, Wanda was trying to help the young tree with his worry whilst still looking distraught herself and the last three were trying in silence to make sense of their current situation.

"I am Groot..." the young tree said, no one knew what he said, but they could tell he was scared for something by his voice.

"My names Wanda." The girl next to him replied "I know you're scared, we all are. But as long as we all stay together, we can try and do something about this." She gestured to their surroundings, this didn't really do much for the teenagers emotional state but Bucky saw him relax a tiny bit, showing that Wanda had gained a slight bit of trust.

"I'm Sam." The Falcon said.

"I'm Bucky." He said, guessing it couldn't hurt introducing himself to the group.

"I'm T'Challa." The king said "Now, we need to try and figure something out. How are we getting out of here?"

"We're not." Replied Wanda "This, as far as I can tell, is an infinity stone. One of the most powerful things in the entire universe, if it wants us to be in here and stay in here, then I'm afraid we're not getting out anytime soon."

Their faces dropped at the news and silence fell. Groot hated the silence, he wasn't used to it, not to mention being stuck in here with a bunch of strangers was hardly ideal; he just wanted his family back. He wanted to wake up back on the Benetar to the inevitable and constant bickering of the other guardians and be told that everything that had happened was just a horrid dream. But he knew that this was real, and he would have to try to get along with new people. People he knows are fighting for the same things as he is. He had began to trust the girl who called herself 'Wanda', she tried to help him after all.

"Well, as we're stuck in here together, I say we get to know each other. Pass the time whilst we wait for everyone who's left standing to get us the hell out of here. We might need to trust each other anyway, none of us know what's going to happen to us in here." Explained Bucky, effectively ending the silence. They all nodded at once. Bucky decided he would start: "Good. Well, my name is Bucky, but my real name is James."

 _Meanwhile, in another part of the stone_

Peter Parker often got nervous, but never like this. So as soon as his uncle had left him again, he began walking around aimlessly thinking and thinking about what he had said. Ben told him how proud he was and told him to get back out there. How? How could he possibly get back out there and be Spider-Man if he was stuck in here? In all his walking around, he came across a shadowy figure, sitting slumped on the floor in a haze. As he got closer, he saw more people; who were walking to the person on the ground although they were further away than Peter. He sped up his pace, relieved yet scared to see who it was over there.

The closer he got, the better he could see and he was so so happy when he saw Peter Quill sitting there. He practically ran over to him shouting to him that he was there and Quill waved him over.

"Oh my god am I glad to see you!" Said Peter, he was confused at how distraught Quill seemed to be. From what he'd gathered back on Titan, he'd found that Quill was a very vibrant man, quite witty and sarcastic. This wasn't right. "You okay, man?"

"I'll be fine." He replied, "You're the Spider kid right?"

"Spider-Man..." he replied.

"Alright. You holding up ok?" Asked Quill, sincerely.

"Mr Stark..." muttered Peter. That's all he could say, all the emotions were coming back to him.

"I know kid, I know." Said Quill reassuringly enough.

Suddenly, there were more people to join the mix. First came Doctor Strange, and then the other two guardians that were on the planet Titan, Drax and Mantis. As soon as they all met up, they discussed their current situation and decided they couldn't get out of there alone.

During the next conversation, Peter saw Quill zone out and pretty much sit there alone as Doctor Strange tried to make sense of Drax and Mantis.

"I heard mr Stark and you talking earlier, after he left." Said Peter, with special emphasis on the word talking about Thanos. Peter didn't feel much like saying his name but he saw Quill grimace at the memory of the mad Titan. "It's not your fault, Quill."

"Then why does it feel like it is?" He asked suddenly, looking at Peter. "He got all the stones, and now we're all dead. We could've got the gauntlet off if I could've just controlled myself. If I could've just waited to kill him."

"That's not your fault. You had just been told that the person you love more than anything was dead, and the man who killed her was right in front of you. Having that reaction doesn't make you a criminal, it makes you human. We all have people we love, Quill. And I bet that if it was anyone else, if any of the rest of us were in your situation, then we would've done the exact same thing. Because we're only human, even if we have enhancements that make us different; I have webs and spider senses, but my feelings and my heart are all human. He's gonna die for what he did, I know it. We're all gonna get out of here and see everyone again and who knows? Maybe they can bring her back too. You're obviously in love with her, right?" Explained Peter

"Oh yeah." Sighed Quill "I love her more than anything in the universe. I would've died for her if I could've... how old are you anyway? You look as young as Groot but you talk like an adult."

"Who's Groot?" Asked Peter.

"Youngest on our team, I think you'd like him." He replied.

The two Peter's re-joined the conversation feeling slightly better than when they arrived here. In that moment, they knew that they had found a friend in each other.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I would like to say thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing my story! This was originally supposed to be a one shot I wrote at 3am one day about Wanda but you guys inspired me to keep writing more of them! I will be going on hiatus soon because I'm going on a trip with my family but I am expecting myself to update at least once before then. I am finally going to see Ant-Man and the Wasp this weekend and I'm so excited! I don't know if it's going to change anything yet but when I see it, just let me know if you want to see an updated one once I have knowledge of the movie. Thank you all so much for reading this and supporting me! Thank you!**


	9. Friends?

**A/N: sorry for the delay on this story, I have been very busy lately and haven't had much time to write. I think there's only going to be one more chapter of this story after this one of course but that will have to wait (more details at the bottom!). Without further ado, here's the chapter!**

They had gone around the group introducing themselves before landing on Groot. He couldn't take his eyes off of the floor as he realised no one would be able to understand him at all. Everyone else by him seemed to have realised that same thing as silence fell once again.

"Don't worry Groot." Said Wanda "We'll find a way."

"Yeah," Said Sam "what about yes and no questions?"

"And charades?" Chimed in Bucky, proud of his contribution. Just then, Groot smiled and nodded his head. It was the first time he had smiled since he had got here and they were happy to see that.

Groot smiled at the group, they were really trying to help him, really trying to show him that they wanted to help. He nodded enthusiastically as the group came up with questions to ask.

"Are you really from space?" Asked Bucky in awe. Groot nodded.

"Are you on a team?" Asked Sam. Groot responded with a half happy half sad nod.

"Were you with that talking raccoon who asked for my arm?" Asked Bucky. Groot chuckled slightly nodded.

"Have you ever been to earth before?" Asked T'Challa. Groot shook his head no.

"Wow, we made a brilliant first impression didn't we?" Sam said jokingly. Groot laughed slightly.

"You seemed to get really sad when we asked about your team," Said Wanda "did something happen to them?"

Groot was confused at how to communicate his thoughts with them but he decided to try and act it out to them, Bucky's face lit up as he realised Groot was using his idea. Slowly he guessed the words.

"You think they're here?" He asked when he worked it out, earning a slight nod "all of them?"

Groot shook his head.

"How many of your team are left Groot?" Asked Sam. Going off of what Groot saw when he was alone earlier, he guessed Rocket was the only one left standing. He lifted one of his finger branches up to signal that there was only one left.

"Oh my god..." Said Bucky

"Only one of you are left?" Asked Sam, Groot nodded, looking at the floor again.

Wanda could tell he didn't want to cry in front of them, but tears were threatening to fall. So she did what she thought was necessary and got up to hug the poor teenager, who gladly accepted a hug in his time of need. Everyone hoped they could find someone he knew soon, they were trying their hardest but they all knew Groot would be a lot more comfortable with people he knew better than them.

But they swore they were going to take care of him until that moment came.

 _Meanwhile_...

"So you guys really saved the galaxy twice?" Asked Peter, he was completely in awe of the three guardians hearing that they saved the galaxy not once, but two times! That's a lot more than he could ever hope to accomplish.

"Yeah." Replied Quill

"The first opponent we had was Ronan, he was a murderer and wanted nothing more than to wipe out the galaxy. He was working in the name of Thanos." Said Drax

"What about the second time?" Asked Peter, wanting to know more about their adventures. Mantis and Drax look at Quill before Mantis herself replied.

"Ego." She said somewhat quietly, they both looked at Quill again as he mumbled 'jackass' under his breath.

"Who's Ego?" Peter asked.

"He was a celestial." Replied Drax, that got Strange's attention alright. Doctor Strange, who had taken himself off and away from the others because they were getting on his nerves made his way back to the group to hear what they had to say.

"A celestial? As in a celestial _god_?" Asked Strange. They all nodded.

"You defeated a god?" Peter asked, feeling a lot like a fanboy meeting his favourite celebrity.

"Well, he was also Peter's father." Said Drax, everyone stared at Quill.

"Dude!" Quill exclaimed, Drax shrugged but everyone still kept there eyes on Quill as if waiting for him to say something about it. "Okay, so he was my _biological_ father. But he was still the evil jackass who broke my Walkman and killed my mom!"

The group sat and listened to the stories the three told them about Ego, about Ronan, about everything. And then they, in return, listened to Strange and Peter's conquests. Strange told them about how he became a sorcerer and his run-in with Dormammu and Peter told them about what happened with the Vulture and about his life back home with his Aunt May and Ned and MJ and everything that Mr Stark has done for him and helped him with. They all had people they cared for and worried about. Strange wasn't going to admit it but, he was actually worried for his best friend Wong having to deal with the chaos that Thanos had left behind. Quill, Mantis and Drax worried for Groot and Rocket, they didn't know if either of them were alive or dead but Quill also worried for Gamora, hoping with his last shred of his life that she wasn't really dead, not properly. Because he refused to believe that this is the end. As long as he still had hope, he could keep fighting.

They all needed hope right now. More than ever before.

 **A/N: thanks for sticking with me this far! I don't think I would've had the courage to continue with this without all your enthusiasm and support! Thank you so much! NOTICE: I am going on hiatus until further notice because of plans with family. The last chapter will be a while coming but hopefully it will be worth the wait. Thanks again!**


	10. Confusion sets in

**A/N: so, I'm back from hiatus. Thank you all for the continuing support for this story. Make sure to stay tuned for the author note at the end of this chapter because I have a few announcements that I need to make. I hope you enjoy this new chapter!!**

They had been waiting for days for something, anything to happen. Peter's Quill and Parker, Drax, Mantis and Doctor Strange all sat around the orange landscape for god knows how long before anything actually happened. They were all worried about everything, but chose not to speak of it.

They worried for themselves, the people they love, the state of the universe after the disappearances of half of it. Peter Parker thought about his aunt, and how distraught she'd be if she were left out of the snap when he didn't come home for dinner that night. Doctor Strange wasn't really one to worry, as this was the way this was supposed to play out, this is the only way they're going to defeat the mad Titan, but still, he couldn't help but wonder about what Wong was doing. Drax and Mantis pretty much worried for the same things, all those left standing around the universe and who out of their team, their small family, was still out there. Quill worried for that also, but being their leader made it harder to process, he was also hoping that he would get to see the love of his life again; he and the guardians had made so many plans for the future, for when Groot was older, but now they all doubted whether they would get to do any of them. Everyone was worried, but still, they never spoke of it.

Over in another part of the stone; Wanda, Groot, Bucky, T'Challa and Sam were a bit more active, shall we say. They decided that if they walked here to find each other, then there's gotta be more people they know and that they can find. It was Groot's idea, he told the rest of the group by hand gestures and charades on his part, and a great deal of patience on their part. But even though it was Groot's idea, he didn't know where it came from, it was like it just suddenly _popped_ into his head. So, off they walked. It was quite fast since they didn't have to eat in the stone which meant not having to take food breaks. Although, they did occasionally stop when they got too tired to walk any more. It took a few hours, maybe days. No one, unsurprisingly, really had a good concept of time in there anymore. But eventually, their efforts to explore were well paid off when they saw five figures sitting on the ground (or lack thereof) in the distance.

The group all stood, frozen, as if they thought that the figures would disappear, as if they weren't there at all and their sleep deprived, grieving, confused minds were finally getting the better of them. Sam was the first to speak as if he was reading the minds of the rest of the group.

"Do you guys see them too?" He asked, they all nodded their agreements. "Ok, good."

"HEY!" Bucky shouted, they all drew nearer to the figures, still aware that the people may not be friendly. They were all on their guards but still took after Bucky's lead and started shouting to the figures to grab their attention. The distant shadows seemed to turn in their directions as they shouted and stayed put as they neared. As the figures slowly came into view, Bucky realised he didn't recognise any of them except the spider kid from Germany and hey, is that a wizard?! By the looks on their faces; Sam, T'Challa and Wanda felt the same. But looking over at the teenage tree, Bucky saw a look of happiness that he had never seen on the kid before as he shouted at the top of his lungs to the people in the group.

"I am Groot!" He shouted, three of the group in particular looked up immediately.

"Groot!" They shouted.

One of the men got up and almost ran over to Groot, by his looks, Bucky assumed he must be human. The other two, who were clearly alien followed, behind.

"Groot, I'm so glad your ok buddy." The human said, the two aliens followed suit. Everybody watched in awe at the reunion.

The humans eyes darted around the group, Bucky looked around nervously. He seemed to be looking for something, or someone...

"Where's Rocket?" He asked suddenly. Groot looked at his feet as he slowly shook his head. "He's not here?" Groot shook his head again.

"I am Groot." 'He's still out there.' Groot replied.

"Well, isn't that good news?" Asked the alien bug lady "Rocket's alive!"

"I am Groot?" 'And we're not?' He replied, they all went silent. Bucky thought of this as his opportunity to ask them a question.

"You can understand him?" He asked, the human man nodded.

"You're his team, aren't you?" Asked Wanda.

"Yes that is us." Replied the alien man, he reminded Bucky of those guys Steve used to pick fights with and end up getting beat up by in alleys. Steve... Bucky hadn't thought, hadn't tried to think of him since they were separated.

"Sorry." Said the human man "my names Peter, Peter Quill. And this is Drax and Mantis. Looks like you've already met Groot." He gestured to his other two teammates and then the young tree.

"Yes we have." Said Sam "he's a good kid."

"I'm Bucky." Bucky said, then went around the others "this is Sam, Wanda and T'Challa. It's nice to finally meet you guys."

"Hi guys. I don't know if you remember me." Said Peter Parker shyly.

"Germany right?" Asked Sam.

"Yeah..." he replied "It's Peter by the way."

They all reintroduced themselves and so did Strange. The new five sat down on the makeshift ground and began talking to the others.

Groot was confused. Yeah, he was ecstatic to be back amongst his family, back where he felt safest; now he could actually talk to people! But something, no, someone was missing. He wondered why they weren't mentioning her, the more he thought, the more worried he got. Where was Gamora? From what he saw of the transmission from Earth she wasn't there, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe it was wrong. Maybe the guardians knew where she was. Knew she was safe. He frantically scanned the group again. Just the same people that were there before. He turned to Quill, who was sitting next to him, cutting off the conversation the others were having.

"I am Groot?" 'Where's Gamora?' He asked, worried and confused that she wasn't here. The Guardians all looked to one another, which only made Groot feel worse. Had something happened while he and Rocket weren't there? So again, he asked: "I am Groot?" 'Quill, where's Gamora?' Quill looked away from the young tree, he shouldn't have to put up with this, he was still so young. All of the grief that Quill felt was flooding back and he couldn't look at anyone, he just buried his face in his hands. Mantis and Drax took this as their opening and mantis spoke softly before beginning to cry herself.

"She's gone..." she almost whispered, but Groot heard it perfectly, he was used to Mantis' quiet tone. Groot was more confused, gone? What did she mean gone? Was she still on Knowhere? Did Thanos get her? He wanted to know but he really didn't want to know just in case it confirmed the bad stuff he was thinking.

"Gamora was murdered. By Thanos." Drax spoke suddenly, and with a certain air of rage toward the mad Titan and grief for his teammate and friend. Groot was in shock. Anger, grief and rage filled his body and mind. He just sat there, his head spinning, his mind all over the place.

Only then did any of them remember the other people around them, probably with similar experiences to them, Drax thought.

"Sorry, who's Gamora?" Asked T'Challa.

"She was a part of our team. Our family. She was killed recently, by Thanos." Drax explained sadly.

"Why did he kill her?" Asked Wanda, Drax looked around at his team who were too incapacitated to join the conversation

He decided he must speak for the team.

"She was his daughter. He killed her in order to retrieve one of the stones, or so we were told." He explained.

"We are sorry for your loss." Replied T'Challa "We all know what it feels like to lose family. My father passed two years ago."

"My brother perished in battle around three years ago." Wanda said "And I also lost someone to Thanos. My love, Vision."

They sat around for hours and talked about their lost loved ones, sharing experiences that have made them who they are. And so the transfer was made; from allies to friends, because what better way to make friends than fighting alongside them. They were all working toward the destruction of the mad Titan named Thanos, albeit for personal reasons each, and so they needed to work together to defeat him, though no one knew how.

Eventually, their talks had moved topic to one that no one had actually thought to mention until now. What had happened to them all since they got here. The idea to have the conversation suddenly came into Quill's mind, although he had no idea as to why. So, one by one they explained to each other what they saw before they found anyone. T'Challa explained how he had seen his cousin, Erik Killmonger for the first time after their dispute and how they had talked of Wakanda; Killmonger had even told him that were he there himself, he would help in the fight against Thanos because he felt for all the children who would have to be separated from their families because of it. Doctor Strange told the group of his meeting with the ancient one, how she had explained that she had been watching his progress over time and just had to comment on how he's "working better with actual people". Wanda shared her tale of seeing her twin brother again after too long separated from him and how she was so scared to let him go again. Quill was reluctant to tell his story but did nonetheless and so shared with the group about his encounter with his lost love, not complete without utterly breaking the hearts of the other members of the group as he recounted his experience. Sam explained how he has met up with his wingman, Riley, from his time served in the United States Air Force, how much seeing him alive had been an utter relief and a major trauma at the same time. Bucky told them about how he had been found by none other than Agent Peggy Carter, the girl that Steve had saved a dance for for over 70 years and how she had preceded to talk to him about Steve and how he needed to "go win this fight and get back to Steve." He still didn't understand how. Drax had then explained how he had a visit from his wife and daughter, who gave him some very good, and very needed advice. Peter Parker had sadly recounted his story of seeing his deceased uncle and getting to learn how proud he was of him. Groot has willingly shared his story of seeing Rocket watch the _Benetar_ arrive in Wakanda just to see if anyone else could at least try and help him figure out why he saw it. Mantis recounted her quite eerily lonely tale of feeling all the other people around her but not having someone to come see her. After that, they were all flustered. They were still no closer to figuring out how to get out of there. But hearing that most of them had heard the same things, gave a slightly more reassuring sense of hope that yeah, they will get out of here and kill that big pruney son of a bitch.

 _"I've missed you sister."_

 _"I have to go Peter."_

 _"Go be Spider-Man and do it for as long as you can."_

 _"Just continue along the same path. You'll find what you're looking for. And once you find it, you'll know you have."_

 _'The look on Rocket's face said it all,'_

' _She simply smiled to herself at all of these reunions of lost love and lost life._ '

 _"Now, go win this fight and get back to Steve. That's an order Sergeant Barnes."_

 **PLEASE READ BELOW:**

 **A/N: so, I hope you liked this chapter. After much deliberation I have decided that this is NOT the final chapter so you can all stay tuned for another one as soon as I've finished it. My other announcement is that after this story _does_ come to it's end, I will be posting a sort of sequel to this series formally named 'Outside the Soul Stone', it will focus on everyone who was left behind on earth and in space.**

 **I wonder if any of you have figured out why they're all there, and _what_ or maybe even _who_ brought them together. I would also like to know if you want me to update the snap numbers or if you do not want any spoilers for ant man and the wasp. **

**Feedback is much appreciated.**

 **Thank you my readers! Stay tuned!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: so, I know it's been a while but I have been busy with all my new school work since I have just moved into like, the most important year in school to have full attention focused. That's going to be really hard as I have recently had some good news come up in my family life and I still have this account and school on top of it all and too much homework to count and I have also been suffering from extreme writers block lately. Yeah, not fun. However, thank you for sticking it out for me to write for ages and I seriously apologise for the delay, it just makes me wish I didn't spend like three quarters of my life at school. This chapter was really confusing for me writing it because I had what I wanted to do and then school happened and my brain got confused but I hope I did ok. Enough of my rambling, enjoy the story!**

"For some reason, we've all been brought together here." Said Sam "I don't have a clue as to why, or how but we have. It's gotta have something to do with getting out of here."

As they all sat around in their circle, they contemplated their situation, each trying to work out what they were going to do. As Sam came to his conclusion, everyone nodded in agreement. But no one had any answers. They were beginning to doubt they never would. But something seemed to click in someone's head, although it still didn't give much.

"What made you guys start looking for someone else?" Asked Quill, they all looked around each other before Peter Parker replied.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you but after my chat with my uncle Ben, I don't know... I just felt this strong thing. Like a force of some kind, leading me in one direction, but it was my idea! Like, my brain just thought 'let's just walk around _aimlessly_ , you might find something.' And I went with it." He explained, but he didn't notice until after he finished speaking; everyone had a look of shock on their faces.

"Me too." Was chorused throughout the group, all except for Bucky and Quill, because they had _been found,_ they hadn't _found_ the others. Although, when they spoke about it, they admitted to feeling that same urge but it stopped when others found them.

"I think Sam's right, and believe me that is something I never thought I'd say." Said Bucky with a slight laugh. "Something definitely brought us here, but how and why?"

Unfortunately, no one had an answer so they all decided to call it a night (day? Night? We don't know anymore... they just slept!) and that's what they all did. Well, mostly everyone...

Peter Parker was never one to easily fall asleep when something was bothering him, and right now, his head was racing. Everything everyone had talked about earlier was turning around and around in his mind and he was still no closer to finding an answer to any of it, but neither was anyone else really. He just lay on the confusing 'ground' and stared at the orange nothingness above him. He lay there for a while longer, frustrated with the lack of sleep, until he decided that enough was enough and that he obviously wasn't going to get to sleep anytime soon. He slowly sat up, he thought his back should be aching because of how long he was sitting down talking and because of his restless non-sleep on the ground-like-thing, but it wasn't. Once again, he started to wonder 'is this really death?' and of course he would, having so many questions. It would explain a lot, he thought, the lack of pain, the lack of his regular albeit slightly inhuman senses, the whole _not having to eat_ thing would make a lot more sense that way, but they still got tired, still had to sleep and rest so they wouldn't go totally bezerk. Did they even need to sleep? Or was it their adjustment to that particular task over their lives that they would have to learn slowly to live (or die) without. But he decided that now was not the time to think about that, as he did _every time_ he thought about that.

He groggily looked around the group and saw a figure a few feet away, seemingly doing the same thing as him, as his eyes refocused he realised it was Groot. He had wanted to talk to Groot quite a bit; from everything Quill and the other guardians had told him about the young tree, he seemed like someone Peter would like. Groot looked over to him and waved, he waved back. Peter looked around again, everyone else seemed to have drifted off. He saw a space past Drax and Quill and motioned to ask Groot if he wanted to go sit there. Groot nodded and moved carefully so as not to wake Mantis, who was sleeping by him. They sat down a little out of the way but not too far away from the group, should anything happen. Groot created a small sort of wall from his roots for them to lean against, and it was _definitely_ more comfortable than sitting up all day or lying on the 'ground' all night. Peter happily went and sat down next to Groot, speaking but being careful not to wake anyone.

"Hey, it's Peter by the way." He said casually.

"I am Groot." The tree said in reply, pointing to himself in a sort of greeting reply.

"You ok?" Peter asked, no one had really asked anyone else that much. Groot nodded slightly.

"I am Groot?" He asked, gesturing to Peter. He guessed it meant: "Are you?".

"I'm alright." Peter replied, Groot seemed happy at his reply, obviously meaning that Peter had understood him correctly."I'm really sorry by the way, about your friend."

"I am Groot." He replied shortly, Peter didn't understand that one. But he understood the tears in his eyes.

"If it helps, I know how you feel." Said Peter. Groot looked up at him, he felt weak. He knew weakness wasn't a good thing. He had heard the stories the other guardians had told and they made him realise that weakness in enemy situations were something he couldn't afford. But here, now, this kid just felt trustworthy. They were both kids. Kids who had seen more and done more than others their age. They had been dragged into this war along with their teams, their families. That fact meant so much to both of them that they weren't alone in this. Groot nodded solemnly in understanding, knowing how much this kid had been through.

"You got anyone left behind?" Asked Peter, Groot nodded. "Who?"

"I am Groot." He pointed over to the sleeping Guardians "I am Groot." He said again. Peter racked his brain to try and work out what he meant.

"A Guardian?" Asked Peter "Wait, who were they talking about earlier? Rocket, right? I know I heard that name."

Groot nodded eagerly. He was right. Groot once again asked in return, as Peter realised quicker this time.

"Well, I don't actually know if anyone I know is alive or not. I live with my aunt, she would be devastated if she was left there but I wasn't." Peter explained.

They sat there talking until they fell asleep. They had found it really nice to know they weren't alone in being included in a frickin' _war_ at such a young age. It had gave them both a friend that understood them more than the others ever could.

When the team woke up the next morning, it was to find two exhausted teenagers who had made friends out of this horrible situation. T'Challa couldn't help but be reminded of his young sister Shuri, he knew she would like the two boys. They would probably end up talking about technology, the Guardian's space tech and their Wakandan. He missed his sister more every minute he was in there. The group decided not to wake the sleeping kids so they could have a proper sleep, because _Jesus_ none of them had slept right since they got here. You couldn't really. It was like something was blocking them from a deep sleep, something...

The adults sat around as they did every day, trying to figure out what was going on. And as they did every day, they came no where close to an answer. There were things they'd figured out; something had brought them together in here, they had all felt the same things, if was as if they'd been _told_ by someone, a someone that was trying to help them. But who was this someone? Maybe, just maybe, there really _was_ someone trying to help them.

"So, Thanos is in control of the stones but the stone brought us together. I'm guessing scrotum head doesn't have a clue." Said Sam

"But what if it wasn't the stone at all?" Asked Quill, when the thought arrived in his mind. This got their attention.

"What do you mean?" Asked Bucky

"Well, aren't the stones supposed to be under the control of Thanos, they can't exactly rebel against him while he has them, can he?" Quill replied, Strange looked at him with interest.

"That's right. How did you realise that?" He asked

"I don't know... it just, came into my head." Replied Quill

"So what you're saying, is that someone is helping us by controlling the stone?" Asked Sam.

"I don't know... I don't know, none of this makes any sense." Said Quill, getting more and more frustrated.

"I am Groot." 'I have an idea.' Said the young tree. No one had realised that the two young boys had woken up from their deep sleeps.

"What is it Groot?" Asked Quill.

"I am Groot, I am Groot. I am Groot. " 'I don't think someone's controlling the stone, otherwise the stone would've brought us together. But it didn't, we found each other, so maybe someone's controlling us.' Groot explained.

"Oh my god Groot I think you're right!" Exclaimed the Star-Lord.

"What'd he say?" Asked Bucky, to which Quill then explained to the others what Groot had told him.

"That would make sense." Said Peter "I mean, whatever it was made it seem like the idea came from our own minds but _something_ felt like it was pushing us." They all nodded in agreement.

And so, they sat around once more but this time, in an attempt to figure out _who_ exactly was controlling them. Was this person or whatever they were an ally to them? Or was this part of a bigger plot? They had decided to go with the first one, on account of none of them could bare to handle someone else out to get them after everything they'd been through. To determine who was 'helping' them, they'd need to figure out a few more things, which felt like that was all they were doing now anyway. Was this being connected to the stones in some way? This made some kind of sense in their minds as whoever it was would have to be connected to one or more of the stones to actually be able to make contact with the group. So, they pondered on all of the people it could be. Doctor Strange mentioned that he was not the only person to ever guard the time stone, speaking of the Ancient One and Wong. He also talked about the Battle of New York and how Loki had been in possession of the Tesseract then. Drax and Quill talked about their brief encounter with the power stone back on Xandar after they'd first met. So, as it turned out, there could be many people trying to help them. But, more worryingly, just as many people trying to defeat them entirely. They looked to each other in a slightly agitated yet comfortable silence.

They were all lost in thought until an unfamiliar voice brought them out. "Hello?" It said. A mans voice, by there was more than one voice there. A woman, and then another woman. Bucky looked up at the three people standing in front of the group.

"Who are you guys?" Asked Quill

 _"The names Hank Pym, this is my wife Janet and our daughter Hope."_

 **A/N: *gasp* plot twist! This has been another chapter of inside the soul stone. Once again, I am really sorry for the very big delay! I don't know if any of you catch my drift with where this is headed but all will become clear next time, I think. To be honest, I don't know if any of you actually read these authors notes I write on here or if I'm just writing them for no reason or to make myself feel better when I write something bad. Oh, and I'm really sorry if any of you haven't seen the post credits scene in Ant-Man and The Wasp but I felt like this needed a last minute plot twist and it's pretty much the best I could come up with. Thank you for reading! Until next time...**


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